Chapter 24: Just Want You to Know I Care

Vault made the system window appear with Altem’s task list. He made it float off to the side so they could all see while sitting down. He pointed at the screen. “Task number 1 was finding a reliable method of healing ourselves.”

Eunice switched out with Harmony and turned her attention to Vault. “Initially the spring water was going to be the solution, but its time limitations made it unreliable.”

Vault nodded. “Until you suggested using the nearby plants to craft potions. It even helped in our most recent fight.”

She smiled for a moment before regaining a more stoic expression. “The second task was to experiment with our skills and explore new possibilities. We've discovered a new method of creating improved items through fusion.”

Vault made the Burning Haunted Knight’s Sword appear in his hand. “I've discovered I can use my crafting abilities on my enemies. I can also improve your fusions for better results.”

Harmony nodded. “The last task on the list was to acquire better equipment and improve our combat prowess.”

Vault turned his attention to the animals. “We got some new allies in our little group.”

Harmony gave him a pouting look. “You are the only one that has gotten any new equipment. You have been neglecting us.”

He returned his weapon to his inventory and started sweating profusely. “I've been busy...And stuff keeps breaking.”

Harmony gave him an unamused accusatory look. “You've been busy?”

He felt himself shrinking in her presence. “I'll have it ready for you soon…I promise.”

Harmony jabbed his chest with her finger. “You better have it ready soon!”

She switched out with Felicia. She stared at him blankly for a moment before stifling a laugh. “Ha, she chewed you out!”

Vault relaxed a little and breathed a sigh of relief. “She's scary when she wants to be.”

The wolf and bat exchanged a confused look before shrugging. They continued eating. Vault finished his meal and suggested they all turn in. They all gathered in the leaf bed and he immediately looked very uncomfortable. He had everyone piled on top of him. “Why am I one on the bottom?”

Harmony shifted in his direction while the wolf laid down on top of her. “You lost rock paper scissors.”

He let out a groan before lying his head back. Tomorrow, he was definitely going to get them a bigger bed. Then he was going to work on Harmony's equipment.

***

In the Gray Dungeon, Arret wandered through the halls. She casually walked around taking in the details. It was a simple rocky terrain with stalagmites and stalactites here and there. Creases on some of the walls and subtle movements made them seem more like living flesh.

She ran her finger along it. “Nice, very nice. My creation is taking an interesting shape. The growth is going at a reasonable pace.”

She headed towards the exit and looked out at the night sky. A cool breeze blew past her and made her hair flow in the wind. She stepped out of the entrance and faced it. It morphed in shape to create a face like structure. The opening had become the mouth and two glowing slits appeared above it for eyes..

It spoke to her. “She hasn't returned…You said she would…”

She titled her head back a bit to look him in the eye. “As I mentioned before, she should be making preparations. She'll come to see you soon. Worst case, I'll send her a message.”

She gave him a hurt look. “You've been doubting me a lot since we met, since I used my abilities to create you. Do you really find me that untrustworthy?”

The cave entrance morphed to form a guilty look. “No…I just…”

She placed a hand on the dungeon and it looked startled. “It's alright. You've been through a lot…I know you feel conflicted, but I don't want us to be against each other.”

They suddenly heard the sound of metal clanking. They turned toward the source and found two haunted Burning knights in front of them.

She smiled and stepped forward. “You two really know how to kill the mood.”

She snapped her fingers and 5 golems emerged from the dungeon entrance. “Oh my, you thought you had us outnumbered, but it appears you failed to take the army into account. An endless army of rock creatures.”

All of the golems spread out in front of her, in order to form a perimeter, to cover any possible angles of attack. She looked up at the dungeon and noticed that it had an annoyed expression while staring down the enemies.

She grinned. “This is a good opportunity to increase the range of the golems by leveling up. Go forth and leave nothing behind.”

One of the Burning Haunted Knights charged forward and attacked a golem. Black smoke exploded from the collision and smothered the surrounding area. Turn after turn passed, as the golems gave no regard for their own safety or their HP.

One of the enemies attempted to burn the golem by restraining it with an unwanted hug, but it took no damage from this every turn, unlike Vault. It appeared that only a creature with flesh could receive burning status damage, or at least the rocky body structure of a golem prevented it from receiving burns.

By the end of many rounds, all of the golems had perished. Only one enemy remained in front of Arret. The battle had not concluded though. The black smoke had not reappeared to show the signs of the fight ending.

The Burning Haunted Knight looked around confused. Unsure of what to do next. It turned its sights on Arret. She smiled and clapped her hands as if she was summoning something. The dungeon entrance released several more golems.

Several turns past as the golems used theirs to grab hold of the Burning Haunted Knight and bring it into the doorway of the dungeon. They clustered together to hold it in place in a massive group hug. The doorway closed down on them, mashing the enemy between its jaws. It munched until it was reduced to a flaming iron ball.

All the HP was depleted, and the dungeon spat the iron ball out onto the floor. Arret looked down at the ball with an amused expression, and picked it up. “A minor deity is not supposed to directly interfere in the survival game. We must be cautious about how we go about our actions. There can be consequences later.”

The dungeon formed the upper half of a humanoid body dangling from the top of the doorway. He looked down at her with concern. “Will this ever end? I just want to be done with this game…I don’t care about the consequences…I just want to go home…I don't know what I'll do anymore after...”

She gave him a peck on the cheek. He was startled by the gesture and taken aback by it. She smiled at him. “Just want you to know I care. I hope you don't mind a little help planning out that unknown future.”